The Partnership
by littlepenguingrl
Summary: Mina isn't thrilled with her new partner in film class. Too many stories float around him and his reputation scares her. What happens when she begins to see the side of him never exposed before?Mina's in for the ride of her life.


Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or any company name brands or logos mentioned in this story. It's just a fanfic after all. Oh, and sorry if it's been done before. There really isn't such a thing as an original idea anymore anyways (don't hurt me for saying that please). Enjoy and review please(. I transferred this story over from my Raqy account, just in case you recognize this first chapter from somewhere else.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I sat down at the lunch table next to Lita and stared at the piece of paper I held in my hand. After rereading the name listed on the bottom of the page, I glanced up at Serena and Amy, who were both giving me a puzzled look.  
  
"Why the face?" Amy questioned as I looked at the paper in disbelief again.  
  
"You guys know who Gabriel is, right? Gabriel Veraki?" I questioned slowly.  
  
We all looked over to the right at the school parking lot. As usual, he was sitting on his silver Mercedes, smoking a cigarette. His current girlfriend (they never lasted more than a week or so) came sauntering up and he began kissing her on the neck, pulling her close.  
  
"Why do you ask, Mina?" Amy replied as she quickly looked away from the couple, a look of distaste crossing her face.  
  
"He's in my film class. The teacher gave us an assignment where we have to film a classmate for a few weeks and make a short documentary on them. In other words, he's my partner and vice versa."  
  
"My goodness! I'm so sorry, Mina. He's got quite a reputation, you know," Amy remarked while biting into a sandwich.  
  
"I've heard a lot myself. He transferred here a few weeks ago because he got kicked out of his private school. Can't say I know why though," Lita exclaimed.  
  
"He's been in a whole mess of trouble too. I've heard that he's gone to jail a few times, but since his family is so rich, they bail him out with ease or they persuade the judge to give him community service instead. It's a shame that he isn't more like his two older brothers," Amy added.  
  
I glanced over at him again. His girlfriend had left already and he was currently fixing his long, curly black hair that he kept back in a low ponytail. I didn't think of him as attractive with his golden eyes and goatee, but there was definitely something about him that always drew my attention. All I knew was that this was going to be an interesting assignment.  
  
The next day after school, I was waiting for Serena to get out of detention and thinking about my film class project. The class felt like it had dragged on forever today; the teacher had gone over camera positions the entire period! Mr. M had talked so much that I didn't have a chance to talk to Gabriel about when we could start.  
  
"Hey, you're Mina, right?" a deep voice asked from behind me.  
  
I glanced over my shoulder and watched as Gabriel sat down on the stairs next to me. His cologne was a light scent that smelled pretty. I nodded my reply and brushed my hair away from my face, wondering what to say to him. His bright gold eyes glanced over at me for a moment.  
  
"So, I guess we should start these projects pretty soon. Want to start tomorrow?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Fine. We can start at my house then. I'll give you a ride after school tomorrow."  
  
"I guess. I should probably check with my mom first."  
  
"Who cares what she thinks? See you tomorrow in class."  
  
"Um.ok then. Bye."  
  
He did that head nod thing in my direction as he stood up and start on his way to the parking lot. I glanced down at my hand and noticed it was shaking. His reputation made me nervous, especially since I had to go over to his house, alone. Now I just had to hope my mom would let me go, although I doubted that she would.  
  
I waited around for another twenty minutes before Serena showed up; Lita was with her. The three of us started our walk over to the temple. Serena whined about being sent to detention again, her third time this week alone! I debated telling them about being asked to Gabriel's house, but decided against it since they would object to me doing so instantly. I stayed silent for most of the walk, wondering how tomorrow would go, and even worse, if my mom really would let me go.  
  
As soon as we had reached the top of the stairs, we joined Raye and Amy in our usual study room. Raye had set out a pot of tea and Lita pulled out some cookies she had made the night before. The others were talking about school, but I couldn't force myself to join in with the conversation; I was so worked up over tomorrow.  
  
"Mina? Hello, Earth to Mina!"  
  
I looked up suddenly, Raye's voice pulling me out of my thoughts. They were all looking at me, waiting for a response to a question I obviously hadn't heard.  
  
"I asked how your film class was going," Raye repeated again.  
  
"Oh, film class. It's going well. The usual, you know how it is."  
  
"Have you even talked to Gabriel yet? Is it too late to ask the teacher for a change in partners?" Lita questioned while taking a sip of tea.  
  
"I'll be fine, really. He seems like a nice enough guy. He can't be that bad can he? I mean, aren't you supposed to not 'base a movie by its creator'?"  
  
"That's 'judge a book by its cover', Mina, and no, not for people like HIM!"  
  
"I'm going to have to agree with Lita. I mean, he's got so many bad habits and rumors floating around him. There has to be some truth."  
  
"I've heard lots of bad stuff from some of the girls at my private school who have dated him. You shouldn't hang around him."  
  
Luna and Artemis walked in at the moment and I was ever so thankful. The others dropped the conversation and waited for Luna to update us on any news of an attack. 


End file.
